The ‘lone bomber’: The use of utilitarian arguments to justify the State-sanctioned killing of one to save a nation.
The importance of Boyatzis (1998) and Glaser and Strauss (1967) to contemporary approaches to methodology.
August 8, 2021An examination of whether the use of section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 against Twitter ‘trolls’ is an example of how societal morals shape law.
August 8, 2021The ‘lone bomber’: The use of utilitarian arguments to justify the State-sanctioned killing of one to save a nation.
Example terrorism dissertation topic 1:
The ‘lone bomber’: The use of utilitarian arguments to justify the State-sanctioned killing of one to save a nation.
Increasing concern over terrorism has led to questions as to when, if it any time, it is acceptable for a government to sanction the killing of a few to save the lives of thousands. In fact, Germany, though briefly, enacted legislation which allowed for the use of weapons against airplanes where the airplane was presumed to be about to be used against the lives of other human beings. While the law was quickly ruled unconstitutional, the question still remains whether there can ever be situations where the sanctioned killing of a single bomber, or the shooting down of a hijacked civilian filled plane, could be used to save the lives of thousands.
Suggested initial topic reading:
- Hornle, T, ‘Shooting down a Hijacked Plane – The German Discussion and Beyond’ [2009] 3(2) CLP 111
- Bohlander, M, ‘In Extremis – Hijacked Airplanes, ‘Collateral Damage’ and the Limits of Criminal Law’ [2006] CLR 579
- Stephens, D, ‘Flying Under the Radar – The Use of Lethal Force against Hijacked Aircraft’ [2007] 7(1) OUCLJ 265
